Colinton dim Northern lights with smash-and-grab win

Northern looked to be comfortably in the driving seat following good wins for Andy Reid and Darren Prentice over Greg Smith and Ian Campbell respectively, with Gary Harrison leading David Fisher 16-6.

John Fisher did keep Colinton hopes alive with a 21-16 win over George Prentice then a spectacular transformation saw David Fisher stage a terrific fight-back to pip Harrison in a 21-20 thriller.

The spotlight then focused on the battle between Ian Miller for Northern and Ross Byers for Colinton and it went right down to the wire with Byers emerging the victor with a last-bowl conversion to win 21-20.

"To win at Singles on away territory is a great feat in itself but do so in the set of circumstances and pressures we had to overcome brings with it a sense of pride and admiration," commented Colinton secretary Sandra Slater.

• WEST LOTHIAN won their battle against the previously undefeated leaders East Lothian in the weekend's Hamilton Trophy clash at West Barns but despite that outcome the campaign is over for team manager Colin Stein and his men.

There is still one fixture to fulfil in the highly-competitive East section of the Cities and Counties Championship but the 2009 national champions have only won three of their six matches to date and can't finish in the top two.

East Lothian, on the other hand, are safely qualified going into their final game against Borders at Ayton & District although the Garden County have surrendered top spot to surprise package West Fife, who finish with a visit to Kirkliston against West Lothian.

The jury remains out on East Lothian's potential to land a title they last captured in 2005 and that is due to winning most of their matches to date by the skin of their teeth but you have to be in it to win it and they have the quality to pull it off.

The skips that made it West Lothian's day at West Barns were Neil Speirs (+15), Raymond Logan (+10), John Aitken (+6), and Thomas Mann (+1) while East Lothian were best served by Derek Oliver (+12) and Alister Kennedy (+8).

West Lothian caught the home side napping in the early stages to capture the first seven-end phase 48-32 and they carried on to reach what proved to be their peak with a 25-shot advantage (62-37) after nine ends.

East Lothian managed to arrest their slide and edge the second phase 43-41, and the third 40-38, however, the statistics obscure the fact that the home side stood 115-115 going into the last, and lost it 12-0 across the green.

• BAINFIELD host the finals of the District 12 National Championships tonight (6.30pm) with the top-of-the-bill clash featuring local star Paul O'Donnell versus Kenny Melville, of Currie, in the Singles."To win in the set of circumstances we had to overcome brings a sense of pride and admiration" Sandra slater